A method for making an elasticized structure envisages the following production steps:                providing a leather piece;        superimposing an elastic layer, in particular made of an elastic fabric, on the first piece, said layer having a smaller surface area than the leather piece;        stretching, in the superimposed condition, the leather piece and the elastic layer on a support frame, wherein the elastic layer is elastically deformed before being fixed to the frame;        forming a plurality of elongated seams, arranged very close side by side and parallel to each other, wherein each seam transversally connects the leather piece and the elastic layer;        removing the leather piece and the elastic layer from the frame. At the moment of detachment from the frame, the elastic layer elastically returns into an undeformed condition and takes the leather piece along with it, owing to the constraint of the seams.        
In practice, at the moment of sewing the elastic layer is totally deformed; after sewing and removal from the frame, each elastic layer portion comprised between two adjacent successive seams returns into an undeformed condition, taking the leather piece along with it and causing a corresponding wrinkling of the leather piece; therefore, there is the formation of a plurality of tight adjacent leather folds, or creases, in close contact each other and only separated by a respective seam.
In practice, when the leather piece and the elastic layer are released, an elasticized structure is obtained, wherein the leather piece has a wrinkled form caused by the elastic return of the elastic layer to which the piece is constrained.
This method may give rise to one or more drawbacks.
A first drawback lies in the fact that the leather piece must be properly thinned before the abovementioned processing, i.e. it must be properly worked to obtain a relatively small thickness in order to be easily “creasable”, while still allowing pulling by the elastic layer at the moment of detachment from the frame, and thus be easily creased to form the adjacent folds.
The reduction in thickness of the leather piece is disadvantageous, in particular when the elasticized structure is used to make protective-type garments, such as motorcycle suits. In fact, the leather, that is located on an external side of the garment, having a reduced thickness, inevitably provides a limited protection for a user.
Moreover, a second drawback lies in the fact that the known method is not very versatile, not allowing the formation of wrinkles with a spread out arrangement or according to a design of one's choice.
A further drawback lies in the impossibility of modifying the elasticity of the structure, this being solely determined by the elasticity of the abovementioned layer.
A further drawback lies in the fact that the elastic layer has a significant impact on the weight of the elasticized structure, and an excessive weight is unfavorable when the elasticized structure is used in a clothing item.